Candles in the Wind,
The Archdruid delves into philosophical analysis of perception, consciousness, morality, ethics, human group-belief-systems, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, their clear thoughts, personal foibles, and subtle ambiguity to stimulate introspection.
He takes a pleasant and thoughtful stroll to, "we don’t yet know how to live, and maybe we should get to work figuring that out."
Then there's this look at simulacrum-reality for control of humanity from Diane Johnstone. Thanks Eleni
The amazing adoption in France of the American anti-Russian campaign is indicative of a titanic struggle for control of the narrative – the version of international reality consumed by the masses of people who have no means to undertake their own investigations. Control of the narrative is the critical core of what Washington describes as its “soft power”. The hard power can wage wars and overthrow governments. The soft power explains to bystanders why that was the right thing to do. The United States can get away with literally everything so long as it can tell the story to its own advantage, without the risk of being credibly contradicted...
Intelligence services write the story, and the mass corporate media tell it.
Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov comments that CIA is able to hack refrigerators, and says that he does not take his cellphone to important negotiations.
The Ron Paul Report looks at John Kennedy's war against the Military Industrial Complex (He won important battles for us...)
"Kennedy was at full war against the U.S. national-security establishment. He was challenging all of their Cold War assumptions. He was proposing peaceful coexistence with what the CIA and the military had said was an implacable foe that was determined to take over America. And he was doing the unthinkable — making friends with the Soviet Union (i.e., Russia), Cuba, and the communist world... With his assassination, Kennedy lost the war and the national-security establishment prevailed. They got the continuation of their Cold War. They got their Vietnam War."
Charles Hugh Smith gets to the point: The Conflict Within the Deep State Just Broke Into Open Warfare
The answer is obvious: a CIA with unlimited power and the backing of a corrupt Establishment and media is more than detrimental to America's soft and hard power globally--it is disastrous and potentially fatal to America's interests, standing and influence.
Pepe Escobar looks at the public display of CIA global hacking weapons, and the "Agency" fallback narrative of Putin-the-Antichrist. "Orwellian iPhone" edition.
"So, relax, global citizen; the CIA is benign and benevolent, even when they’re watching you. You have nothing to fear but fear itself – and its name is Russia."
The World Socialist Website expounds further:
The documents reveal that the CIA possesses the ability to exploit and control any internet-connected device, including mobile phones and “smart” televisions. These tools, employed by an army of 5,000 CIA hackers, give the agency the means to spy on virtually anyone, whether inside or outside the United States... Former CIA director Michael Hayden replied to the revelations by boasting, “But there are people out there that you want us to spy on. You want us to have the ability to actually turn on that listening device inside the TV to learn that person’s intentions.”
Stephen Hawking calls for World Government to prevent robot (AI) apocalypse. (I think he always means well, and is probably just represented by dunces again.)
“Since civilisation began, aggression has been useful inasmuch as it has definite survival advantages.”
“It is hard-wired into our genes by Darwinian evolution. Now, however, technology has advanced at such a pace that this aggression may destroy us all by nuclear or biological war. We need to control this inherited instinct by our logic and reason.”
“The real risk with AI isn’t malice but competence... A super intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we’re in trouble."
The AI Economy, why the market never crashes, an open secret:
Some form of A.I. and supercomputer is injecting the system with “printed” money so nothing really fails. I am not just talking about banks. I think, at this point, “regular industry” of a certain size is also getting these magic funds. This is almost the only way to explain how nothing has really failed since 2009. This magic show will go on for as long as the rest of the world still covets our fake monopoly money painted green.
John Helmer (Dances With Bears) explains how the Australian investigators into the MH-17 downing are seriously not convinced that Donetsk separatists with Russian missiles intentionally shot down that civilian aircraft. That is a lot to prove, especially when it just ain't so. Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull is patiently obstructing injustice for now...
"Because the Australians have decided there is no case for a terrorist act to justify compensating their own citizens, the Ukrainians have already lost their case."
35 Countries where the US has supported Fascists, Drug Lords and Terrorists:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview with Chinese TV station Phoenix, said U.S. forces in Syria were "invaders" and that he had yet to see "anything concrete" emerge from U.S. President Donald Trump's vow to prioritize the fight against Islamic State.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan had a very friendly, productive, cooperative and promising meeting on Friday. It appears that there is now genuine trust at all levels, and the countries are able to fully cooperate militarily, diplomatically and economically. Major point of agreement stressed is territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq, coupled with all parties contributing to fight against "terrorists". ISIS/ISIL/Daesh loses.
The Syrian Arab Army and friends have blocked deeper Turkish advances into Syria, and have liberated the water pumping station for Aleppo from ISIS, by attacking rapidly. The booby traps were in place, but were not triggered as ISIS retreated ("Water is life" for bad-guys, too...) 2 million people are about to take showers. Russia and the US seem to be cooperating by putting brightly-flagged forces between Turkish proxy forces and Manbij, held by Syrian Kurdish forces. With their backs protected by US/Russia, Kurdish forces (YPK, SDF, Syrian Democratic Forces) advance towards Raqqa, the last large Syrian city held by ISIS. These Kurds are obviously expected to pay in blood for a homeland, promised by the US. Will they maintain enough strength to collect on that promise? "500 U.S. special forces (Green Berets) are training and leading the 10,000+ strong SDF proxy force. A small army unit is with them and provides artillery support with two long range MLRS missile systems. Added to these were the Ranger elements seen around Manbij. 400 U.S. Marines (11th MEU) were announced to soon enter the area. They will mostly provide 155mm artillery support and will take care of resupplies. 2,500 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne are currently staging in Kuwait. The U.S. now has four military air fields in the Syrian Kurdish area north-east of the Euphrates."
A UN report has accused Turkish security forces of human rights violations during operations against Kurdish fighters in the country's southeast, drawing an angry response by Turkey which rejected it as "biased".
(Never falsely modest) Elon Musk lays down the offer to put in a 100 megawatt solar utility in Southern Australia in 100 days, or do it for free. That means lots of battery power. When does the "100 days" start? Does he get money up front to make batteries before those 100 days? What are the details that make this bold boast a real wager?
(Fake Nobel) Prize winning economist : “What is not OK is for rent-seekers to get rich,” Deaton said. "All that talent is devoted to stealing things, instead of making things." He favors a single-payer health system only because our current part-private and part-public system is exquisitely designed to give opportunities for rent-seeking. “So I, who do not believe in socialized health-care, would advocate a single-payment system…because it will get this monster that we’ve created out of the economy and allow the rest of capitalism to flourish without the awful things that healthcare is doing to us.”
Which single-payer healthcare model would be best for California? (BETA-testing, folks.)
Eating Apples
